BY23 Tern
The BY23 Tern is a folding knife that features two non-locking blades.
Appearance in catalogs
The BY23 Tern appeared in the following catalogs:
- 2011 Mid Year Supplement
- 2012 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2013 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2014 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2015 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2016 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2017 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2018 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2019 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2020 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2021 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2022 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2023 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2024 Spyderco Product Guide
- 2025 Spyderco Product Guide
Designer
Sal Glesser
History, mentionings from the forums etc.
- Byrd Tern: First Impressions, posted by forum member SG89.
- Anyone Have a Byrd Tern?, posted by forum member araneae.
Information from the Spyderco catalog on the web
TERN™ G-10 BLACK
TThe BY23 byrd Tern is a non-locking folder. Folding knives with blades that don't lock open are in many cases the only legal-carry pocketknife option in countries and cities where restrictions have been adopted forbidding carrying folding knives with locking blades. As more counties enact strict knife laws, the concept of non-locking knives continues gaining momentum.
The Tern has a black G-10 handle resistant to warping and fading. The blade is held in the open position during cutting by a notched-joint at the knife's pivot. When closing the blade, the notch produces resistance functionally similar to traditional slip-joint penknife. To enhance control and comfort there's a deep finger choil which jogs the index finger into position on the bottom of the blade directly under the thumb.
Placing the index finger in the choil, the finger acts as a stop, inhibiting the blade from closing when cutting and allows the user to choke-up closer to the cutting edge with comfort and dexterity. A wire clip positions the folder to carry deep in a pocket, tip-up and ready for use left or right-handed.
The Tern has an 8Cr13Mov leaf-shape full flat-ground blade available in a PlainEdge. The handle is assembled with screw-together construction.[1]
Variations
The a deep finger choil is made in China and features:
- a non-locking blade
- a Leaf Blade
- Finger choil
| SKU | Handle | Edge(s) | Steel | From/To | MSRP | Note | Number made | Grind | Clip | Clip positions | Collectors club |
| BY23 | G-10 | PE | 8Cr13Mov | 2011 - | $53.00 (2022) | N/A | Full Flat | Stainless wire clip | LH/RH, TD/TU | Main |
Most collectible variation
Questions regarding collecting the BY21
Some interesting questions we are looking for an answer to:
Questions with an answer:
Technical information
Measurements (mm and grams) of the BY23 Tern
| Variation | Length overall | Length closed | Length blade | Length edge | Blade thickness | Weight |
| BY23G | 163mm | 163mm | 70mm | 55mm | 3.0mm | 60g |
Measurements (inches and ounces) of the BY23 Tern:
| Variation | Length overall | Length closed | Length blade | Length edge | Blade thickness | Weight |
| BY23G | 6.40" | 3.65" | 2.75" | 2.17" | 0.118" | 2.1oz |
References
- ↑ The BY23 Tern in Spyderco's online catalog
